When boomers ask 'You paid money for that?' the real question is what need this purchase is meeting: convenience, community, or control.
Let’s be honest: every generation has its “Wait… you paid money for that?” list.
As someone who grew up clipping paper coupons with my mom and later spent a decade as a financial analyst, I’m fascinated by how spending reflects identity.
Gen Z has its own set of autopilot purchases, things that signal convenience, values, or belonging. Boomers see some of these and just shake their heads.
I’m not here to dunk on either group. I’m here to look at the psychology underneath, and maybe help you spend with a little more awareness and a little less eye-rolling across the dinner table.
1. $8 iced coffee and “drinkware ecosystems”
I like coffee. I also like numbers. If you multiply a daily iced latte by 20 workdays, you are staring at a monthly bill that rivals a basic utility.
Boomers tend to see coffee as something you make at home. Gen Z often sees it as a tiny ritual that punctuates the day, doubles as a social signal, and looks great in a story.
Add the “drinkware ecosystem” of limited-edition tumblers, color drops, and straw charms, and you have a category that boomers call frivolous and Gen Z calls fun, functional, and hygienic. As someone who trail runs, I appreciate good hydration gear; I just don’t need it in twelve shades of sherbet sunrise.
If this one is your autopilot purchase, try a simple rule: buy barista drinks on days you have meetings or deep work as a performance treat, and brew at home on the rest. You keep the ritual without letting it quietly become rent.
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” — Warren Buffett
2. Delivery fees on delivery fees, also known as convenience stacking
Here is a common Gen Z afternoon: order a 14-dollar salad, add a 5-dollar delivery fee, a 15 to 20 percent tip, plus a platform service fee, and suddenly that salad costs almost as much as a sit-down meal, and it arrived warmish.
Boomers look at that and see pure madness. Gen Z often sees smart time management and thinks, “Why leave my desk when I’m in flow?”
The psychological hook here is convenience stacking, meaning a series of tiny fees that individually feel harmless but collectively become a budget leak.
My take: save delivery for rainy days and deadlines you truly need to keep.
The rest of the time, take a brisk walk to pick it up. You will get sunlight, steps, and a fresher meal. Convenience is lovely. Automatic convenience is expensive.
3. Micro-subscriptions and in-app upgrades
Cloud storage. Meditation apps. Filters. Premium notes. Extra swipes. Another terabyte you “might need.”
A lot of Gen Z spending lives in the background as 2.99 and 7.99 charges that never trigger a pain point. Boomers often prefer paying once, or not paying at all, and keeping software for a decade.
This is the subscription economy doing exactly what it was designed to do: spread friction so thin you forget you are paying. As a former analyst, here is my favorite 10-minute audit.
Open your phone, scroll subscriptions, and label each one “earn” if it makes you healthier, wealthier, or calmer, “enjoy” if it is pure delight, or “exit” if you forgot you had this. Cancel the exits, put a 90-day reminder on the enjoys, and keep the earns without guilt.
Dan Ariely likes to say we are not just irrational, we are predictably irrational. The effect gets stronger when the buy button is one thumb away.
4. Buy now, pay later for everyday stuff
BNPL is the modern layaway, except you get the thing today and the payments later. Gen Z loves the clarity of four equal installments, often with zero percent interest. Boomers see it and think, “If I can’t pay now, I probably shouldn’t buy it.”
They are both a little right. Structuring payments can be smart cash flow. Structuring payments for impulse purchases turns into a calendar full of due dates.
My rule: use BNPL only for items that meet the “3x” test. Will I still want, use, and value this three months from now?
If yes, go ahead. If it is a glitter phone case, maybe not.
A practical safeguard: turn on alerts and keep BNPL spending under a fixed weekly cap, just like groceries. Guardrails beat guilt.
5. Skincare stacks and dermatology as hobby
Boomers say, “We used cold cream and good sleep.”
Gen Z says, “Here is my 12-step routine: SPF, serum, essence, slugging, and two kinds of retinoids.”
Skincare has become both self-care and identity. It is a hobby you can see in the mirror, and it feels like health. The science has also caught up. Daily SPF and smart actives do matter.
Where it crosses into “ridiculous,” at least to older eyes, is when the routine becomes a shopping habit that chases newness for the sake of newness.
I keep two lists. First, skin goals such as clear acne or fewer sunspots. Second, products that actually work for me. Before I buy a shiny new bottle, I ask whether it addresses a goal or whether it is just a cuter version of something I already own.
One in, one out keeps the shelf and the budget sane.
6. Digital goods you cannot hold, but definitely wear
Skins, emotes, filters, premium fonts, downloadable packs, and other digital flair now function as the new wardrobe.
Boomers often think, “You paid real money for a hat your character wears?” Gen Z shrugs and says, “It is how my friends see me every day online.”
Identity has shifted spaces. If you spend hours in a game, a classroom Slack, or a creator’s community, digital goods are the outfit. The real question is not whether they are “real.”
The real question is whether you are being intentional. Ask the same questions you would ask about physical fashion. Will I use this often? Does it express something I care about? Is there a cheaper way to get a similar effect?
If you are a parent funding those purchases, consider a simple budget. Create a monthly “digital discretionary” line item. This approach acknowledges reality and prevents the “Where did 60 dollars go?” surprise.
7. Creator memberships and paying for parasocial proximity
Patreon, Discord boosts, paid newsletters, backstage meet-and-greets, and similar offerings give Gen Z a way to support voices they love and to feel closer to them. Boomers sometimes see this as paying extra for what used to be free. Gen Z sees it as voting with dollars for the internet they want.
I like this category in principle because it moves money to makers instead of middlemen. Not every membership earns its keep though. If you are stacking three memberships for content you barely skim, you are not buying access. You are buying guilt.
Try a quick check. Did I use what I paid for last month? If not, pause the subscription and set a reminder to revisit in two months. If you miss it, restart. If you do not miss it, you just made room in the budget for something you will actually enjoy.
“The things you own end up owning you.” — Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
What is really going on here
Underneath all seven buys, I see three human needs: convenience, community, and control.
- Convenience says, “My time matters.” Delivery, BNPL, and subscriptions are time-leveraging tools. They are helpful until they start to siphon cash and control.
- Community says, “I belong.” Drinkware drops, digital skins, and creator memberships function as modern uniforms and club cards.
- Control says, “I shape my world.” Skincare routines and app upgrades create the feeling that you are steering the ship.
Boomers are not wrong to ask tough questions. Gen Z is not wrong to spend where life actually happens now, namely online, on the go, and on camera. The sweet spot is spending that aligns with your values on purpose.
So, how do you make that shift in real life?
- Name your non-negotiables. If iced coffee brings you joy, keep it and cut a subscription you never open. Optimize for a happy life, not a spreadsheet trophy.
- Audit by category, not judgment. I run a quarterly “CCCs” review, which stands for Convenience, Community, and Control. What is worth it? What is not? Small trims beat dramatic cuts that you will not stick to.
- Set playful constraints. Try three delivery orders a month. Add a rule that you can buy one new skincare product only when one empties. Give yourself 15 dollars a month for digital flair. Constraints spark creativity.
When someone older, or younger, calls your purchase ridiculous, try curiosity instead of defensiveness. Ask, “What does this buy give me that I actually need? Is there a cheaper or better way to get it?” If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, redirect.
We are predictably irrational, and that is exactly why small systems beat willpower every time.
Final thought
Money is not just math. Money is meaning. Gen Z buying patterns tell a story about the world they are building, a world that is flexible, participatory, and expressive.
Boomers’ skepticism tells a story too, one about resilience, thrift, and the wisdom of living below your means. We need both stories.
Keep the tumbler if it makes you drink more water. Keep the creator membership if the work genuinely makes your day better. Keep your eyes open while you do it, and keep your budget aligned with the life you are actually trying to build.
If a purchase makes your days easier, your community closer, or your future brighter, and you can afford it, it is not ridiculous. It is intentional.
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